Blood On The Moon
by woodlandqueen1
Summary: After the first night of the full moon, Reamus Lupin is accused of killing a wizard child. Will his friends stand by him or let doubt win them over?
1. That Fateful Night

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters from Harry Potter they are all patented products of J.K Rowling. However the storyline is all mine.

**Chapter One:**

** That Faithful Night**

**If there is anything in this chapter that you don't like feel free to say so, I do appreciate constructive criticism and I will do everything I can to improve on the story. 

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****_Ever since their last night at Hogwarts the four boys who had by now progressed to young men had swore an oath to be friends from this life into the next. No matter what trouble and strife one got into the others would defend them with their last breath…until now._****_

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James Potter, Sirius Black, Reamus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew all sat round a dilapidated table that could only be held up by magic. The legs where badly eaten away by termites and God knows what else resided in the dingy pub. The floor looked like it hadn't been washed in centuries and the dim lighting only made the hovel look even seedier.

"Who chose to meet here?" Asked a disgusted James.

"You did" Retorted Sirius.

"Yes James, why exactly did you choose THIS place" Reamus uttered while trying to work out what exactly was in the filthy pint glass in front of him. He was sure he had requested lager instead he had received sewer water.

"Well, after what happened at the bachelor party we're not allowed back at The Green Dragon…by the way Lily doesn't know anything about that so keep it quiet" James replied, he had been married all of three months and he was still recovering from his last night of freedom. But when the Marauders got together everybody knew about it!

Life was good for the quartet James had a beautiful new wife and was happily living up to the newlywed stereotype: pining every time she left the room and getting turned on by her slightest movement. Sirius was perfectly content getting up at noon and living off his inheritance. Being unemployed (though his friends deemed him as – The Unemployable – by his fantastic ability to purposefully screw up job interviews) his idea of a days work was getting fully clothed. And practising his favourite hobby: juggling girlfriends!

Reamus was quite the opposite, very much the career man he had made a good name for himself at The Ministry and was expecting a promotion any day now. Peter also seemed to have a constant smile on his face; he never spoke about his work much except for saying that 'things are changing for the better' whenever anybody quizzed him about it.

"So what are we doing tonight then?" Peter questioned cheerily.

"Howling at the moon mate, or so the stereotype says" Reamus replied glumly. He took a brave swig from the glass and desperately regretted it.

"Ow yeah it's a full moon tonight, sorry Reamus I forgot" James added sincerely.

Reamus waved it off, he was terrified to open his mouth encase he vomited over his friends.

"Do you want some company tonight?" Asked Sirius.

Reamus couldn't help but smile. The guys lived in opposite directions on the edge of London so they were used to hearing that sentence come from many muggle prostitutes.

"Did your last girlfriend teach you that line?" Joked Reamus.

"Sod you then" Sirius laughed gently slapping his comrade on the back.

"Nah I'll be fine, besides I don't think your girls would be too impressed if you come home tomorrow with scratch marks all over yourselves" Reamus added with a dirty smile.

"Ow Moony you big flirt" James said putting on a very camp voice and doing the token gay hand gesture.

All the guys roared with laughter and continued the barrage of friendly insults and personal jokes.

* * *

As Reamus clumsily walked home from the pub he couldn't wipe the smile from his face, it had been awhile since everyone had just hung around together at the pub.

They had all been so close at Hogwarts and he had really missed them all. As he thought back over the joyful hours he had spend at the repulsive pub he began to wish he hadn't turned down Sirius's offer. Granted he wouldn't remember a moment of the night ahead but just the thought of somebody keeping watch over him and having a friendly face to see when he woke up the next day did bring back the happy memories of childhood.

He finally reached home; he lived in a two bedroom house a few miles from town it was small but out of the way. He didn't have to worry about apologizing to his neighbours about his 'noisy dog' every month because there weren't any.

Reamus wasn't so much a recluse he just had a hard time trusting people and he was painfully shy around women. He found that being a workaholic and a werewolf wasn't exactly the best qualities to have when getting to know people, their first impression of you is always that you are going to start gnawing or humping their leg.

As he tried for the third time to get his key in the front door he wondered why he had drunk so much of that awful brew. He was feeling very light headed and his feet didn't want to go where the rest of his body did.

Finally he succeeded in falling head first into the hallway. He groaned slightly as he raised himself to look at his watch. As soon as he saw the time he leapt to his feet he only had half an hour till sunset.

Reamus frantically rushed around the house, he grabbed a large metal dogs bowl and filled it with water and some dead rabbits from the larder. He found that if he didn't have some food to hand when he changed he spent the whole night tearing his fur out and chewing his limbs to the bone.

He walked up stairs to the second bedroom; he turned and closed the door it was covered from top to bottom with locks and iron-clad bolts. The walls were padded with soft foam, however over the years the soft foam had been shredded to pieces and two of the walls were completely bare. Attached to one of the reinforced walls were chains, manacles and many other forms of restraints (as you can imagine this got several second looks from the odd people who did pop round to visit Reamus, thinking it was a sordid sex room). There was only one small window with thick steel bars across next to it was a medicine cabinet.

He placed the bowl and rabbit carcasses near his assorted shackles and went over to the medicine cabinet. Half a dozen small phials of blue liquid lined the cabinet he removed one and close it again.

Reamus blessed the day Wolfsbane was discovered, it made his progression from man to beast easier to bear and kept him very docile during the long nights. He quickly undressed, neatly folded his clothes and placed them in the opposite corner to his constraints. He picked up the heavy chains and began fastening them to himself, he locked manacles around his ankles and wrists and a hefty steel harness around his chest.

From where he stood he could see the sun begin to set. It was time.

"Bottoms up" Reamus uttered before emptying the contents of the bottle into his mouth. However tonight something was wrong, usually the mixture had a very sharp acidic flavour like over ripe lemons and left a woody aftertaste. Tonight the concoction was very sweet and tasted nothing like usual.

Reamus dropped the bottle and watched it smash; the sun was rapidly fading from the sky so he had no time to discover what this mystery potion was.

Reamus could feel it starting; his bones began to stretch and crack inside him. The pain ripped through his body like a razor blade, muscles tore trying to keep up with the sudden transformation. He doubled over with agony and fell to his knees; Reamus could see his fingers and toes extend and shred the nails as sharp jagged claws emerged. His face stretched and hair mated to every inch of his sweaty form.

His tormented screams became long shallow howls as reality slid away from him, his mind turned to savage feral cravings as everything went dark…

* * *

A light breeze swept through the large oak tree shielding Reamus's naked flesh from the unnatural heat. It was nearing the end of summer yet the sun refused to give way to the desired autumn winds.

He rolled over semiconscious and lay there for several moments until the odd sensation of grass tickling his ear struck him. He bolted upright and waited for his eyes to focus on his surroundings.

Reamus was in the middle of a large wood surrounded by enormous trees and wild flowers. His mind raced to keep up with his pounding heart. What happened last night? How did I get out? Where am I? Questions raced around his aching head none of which he could answer. He decided the best course of action was to go home and see if he could piece together what had happened.

As Reamus awkwardly tried to raise himself he noticed something strange by his feet, he leaned in to identify the mysterious object.

All of Reamus's worse fears encased him; a lock of long blonde hair lay at his feet.

"No" Reamus whisper panic stricken. His stomach lurched as he gagged violently at his discovery, with a sudden burst of energy Reamus was on his feet. He backed away from the few strands of hair but the sunlight danced majestically upon it entrancing him.

He stood there transfixed for what seemed like hours, his mind screaming at him:

"What have I done?"

Deep in the forest of trees a twig snapped under the pressure of a passing creature breaking Reamus's trance. He no longer had control over his senses and in one quick movement he grabbed the hair and ran as fast as was humanly possible.

He darted through the trees with surprising grace clinging tightly to the item that filled him with so much dread. His heart beat harder and harder with each frantic pace, his legs burned and each breath felt like an ice cold knife between his ribs.

Reamus continued to run until his body screamed for mercy. Thankfully he had reached the edge of the forest; he slowed down to a quick jog as he followed the ash grey road hopefully back home.

Reamus stopped in front of a sign that read: Welcome to Muckton.

Muchton, he recognised the name it was the nearest town to Little Cawthorpe where he lived. It was a fair few miles but he felt some slight warmth at the thought of home. Because he had stopped the full impact of his trek was catching up to him, Reamus struggled to breath and his body throbbed with each heart beat. He wandered over to the edge of the road; he thought that it must be very early because he hadn't seen anybody since waking up. However it wouldn't be like that for long and seeing a naked man scampering through Muckton would draw some attention. Reamus decided that he would cut through the trees and race down the alleys so as to avoid as many people as possible. And so he was off again.

* * *

Reamus threw himself down on the bare floor boards of his home. On his way back to Little Cawthorpe he had managed to steal a pair of shorts and a t-shirt two sizes too big for him.

He lay in a ball, his nose pressed hard against his knees willing his pulse to return to its normal rate. Soon the light hum subsided to a steady beat and Reamus though shaky managed to sit upright. He looked down at his hand, he had been gripping so tightly to the hair his finger nails where dug deep into the flesh making him bleed slightly. For the first time he noticed how soft the strands where, they felt like spun silk on his palm. As despair hit him all over again tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, he wept silently rocking back and forth.

"Pull yourself together" His mind screamed gruffly at him. He had to stay in one piece if he was ever going to find out what happened after he turned. Reamus slowly drew himself to his feet, and for the first time he realised that when he had returned home he hadn't had to open the front door. He looked at the remnants of the door; it had been broken clean off the hinges. Huge scratch marks streaked the length of it and the door handle was pierced right the way through by long serrated teeth.

As Reamus roamed from room to room havoc and destruction was all he saw. The sofa had been completely shredded; curtains, bed sheets and any other fabric lay in tatters all around the house. Furniture was smashed and rested at precarious angles.

"What am I going to do?" He asked himself out loud just to remind himself this wasn't a horrific nightmare.

"Call the Ministry, NO call James or Sirius, NO wait go get a paper see if anything has been reported it might just be a fluke, you might have just fallen asleep in the most unlucky of places, act completely normal you probably didn't do anything wrong" This was getting to much his head buzzed with thoughts as too what his next actions should be. Trying to rationalise the situation was driving him crazy.

* * *

The soothing hot water washed over his body, every droplet cleansing him internally along with his exterior. Mud, grass and blood washed down the drain as Reamus traced his fresh wounds. A long scratch along his left arm, a deep cut in each thigh, every inch of his back coated in scrapes varying in length and a painful gash spanned his face from forehead to chin. And that didn't include all the glass and sharp stones that where imbedded in his feet and palms.

Reamus got out of the shower when the water ran from boiling to sub-zero, he quickly dried himself with a threadbare towel and got dressed. Thankfully some of his clothes had lasted the night, he wore a pair of black trousers a pale blue shirt and threw his black robe over the top.

The lock of hair remained in his robe pocket and every few minutes Reamus out of morbid curiosity took it out, examined it and quickly put it back in his pocket before his psyche could concoct disturbing thoughts. For the first time since awakening Reamus looked at the clock in his kitchen.

"Merlin's beard, I'm late" He yelled, it was 10:30 he was already an hour and a half late for work. However yet again he put his hand in his pocket and handled the mane, it was evident that work was going to have to wait.

Reamus hadn't withdrawn the hair instead he just stood there motionless holding it tightly; he slipped once again into a trace state however he was rudely awoken by a familiar voice.

"Reamus, Reamus"

Reamus stood there staring at the person. "I know this man" Reamus said to himself silently, however his mind was somewhere else and putting a name to the face was proving difficult.

"Reamus, we gotta talk" The unidentifiable man spoke softly; his voice was forlorn ridden with anguish.

"Caden?" Reamus finally uttered. Suddenly a wave of relief washed over Reamus, Caden worked at the Ministry. However that relief turned to shock as he remembered that Caden was an Auror.

"Reamus mate, we…we gotta take you in" Caden said barely making eye contact with Reamus.

"What's happened?" Reamus asked not really wanting to know the answer.

"A girl…a little witch she…she was killed last night…by a werewolf" Caden finally managed to get the words out each one more difficult then the last.

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**A/N:** Ok I have a few points about this chapter:

1)The length, I'm sorry I just got on a roll I have started writing the second chapter and it's looking to be slightly shorter then this one. Should I post it in its entirety or cut it up into 2 chapters?

2) The places, I don't live in London so I just picked Muckton and Little Cawthorpe because they are just outside of London and right next to each other. If I have written them to be something there not then I am truly sorry.

3) **Guest appearance**, in chapter two or three I am offering somebody **HERE** to be a character in BOTM. The role is of Reamus's lawyer/barrister, so whoever leaves the nicest review will get to defend…or persecute Reamus.

Isn't it amazing the lengths I will go to for reviews?


	2. Questions & Doubt pt 1

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews guys and for those I had to bribe to do so…the moneys in the post. First I would like to say–

_'Hold on their sis I have a bone to pick with you' _

Pinko, what the hell are you doing here?

_'You spelt his name wrong…you spelt his name WRONG, how could you he's our second to favourite character?!'_

reads reviews…um, oops.

_'That's it your out of here, I'm carrying on with the story.'_

Hay it's not my fault I'm dislexix…um…dislexis. Damn why did they make this word so hard to spell, it's just cruel!

_'You're not dyslexic your just thick now get outta here'_

Fri leaves the site very ashamed of herself…

_'So on with the story children…'_

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**Chapter 2: Questions & Doubt **

**part 1**

"Ow come on give me a break!" Sirius said exasperated as he raised himself to his knees. He had been working on his flying motorbike since waking. Even though that was only half an hour ago he was already starting to wonder why he had bought the beautiful pile of scrap metal. Even though he was inside the garage, the shade didn't stop the blistering heat from making him even more agitated.

"Here you go hun" A talk blonde women wearing nothing but one of Sirius's t-shirts cooed offering Sirius a cup of tea

"Cheers, Katie" Sirius said gratefully accepting anything that would draw him away from the demon machine. He flashed a smile and a wink at her but all he received in return was a slap round the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sirius yelled leaping to his feet.

"Kami…my name is Kami" She yelled back at him. Kami turned abruptly and stomped into the house.

"Ow" Was all Sirius could muster.

* * *

"Identify yourselves" A middle aged women said addressing Caden. Remus and Caden had arrived at the Ministry accompanied by Caden's partner Byron.

Caden was a sweet man he joined the Ministry the same day as Remus, they had spent the whole day trying to work out where their desks where in the cavernous building. They both worked in separate areas but every so often they stopped by for a chat about what the other was up to.

On occasion Caden had told Remus about Byron, and everything he heard was bad. Byron was very much an ask-questions-later man, he looked like he was carved from stone and his jaw was so rigid you could sharpen a knife against it.

"Aurors Caden Briar and Byron Zeric, we've brought in Remus Lupin for questioning" Byron spoke for Caden. The receptionist eyed Remus with disgust before allowing them through.

The time between the Aurors arriving at his home and him stepping through the doors to the Ministry where lost to Remus. He barely even noticed when Byron roughly pushed him into the car and sped off down the road. Caden only spoke to Remus when he was reading him his rights and even then he looked everywhere but at Remus.

Remus was still in shock, he hoped and prayed that what they were saying was a horrid joke or that he was going to wake up at home still strapped in tight to his restraints.

Nobody told Remus where they were going, they didn't need to he could tell by the look on Caden's face that they where headed to Interrogation. As they walked down the lengthy hallway workers stopped their frantic labour and stared at Remus. A woman from the same department as Remus gasped as she saw him, hands shackled and being guided by the illustrious Aurors. Others who Remus had known for quite some time just looked away pretending they hadn't seen him, as if just recognising him would insinuate they where involved.

Remus's head pounded with each step, his heart felt like a lead weight in his chest and again that persecuting voice rang in his ears 'What have I done?'

* * *

"Baby, I'm sorry it's the heat I…" Sirius said desperately trying to stop the rampaging woman from leaving. She was already fully clothed and heading towards the front door.

"You what? Come on Sirius you what?" Kami asked turning around and staring at her soon to be ex-lover.

"I'm sorry" He said pulling an awkward face trying to win her back over.

"What's my last name?" She asked very coolly.

Sirius's eyes widened, he had to know this he had to. He moved his mouth without producing any words, mouthing every letter of the alphabet.

"Um…Becker" He replied hoping he was right.

Her hand collided against his cheek again sending a surprising amount of pain through the shamed mans face. Kami turned unlocked the door and walked through flicking her hair as she strode down the path.

Just as she was about to unlock the small gate at the end of the path a hand beat her to it. She looked up and saw James standing there.

"Hi Kami is Sirius in?" He asked taking a step back as he saw the livid expression on her face. Sirius suddenly appeared by her side rubbing his cheek.

"James would you mind telling this pig what my last name is?" Kami said looking from James to Sirius.

"…Brooke, what–" James started very confused however Kami cut him off.

"See, a guy who I've met twice can remember my name but you can't" She screamed at the embarrassed Sirius. In one swift movement Kami opened the gate and marched down the road.

There was an awkward silence between the two men until James burst into laughter.

"Shut up it's not funny" Sirius said trying to hide his smile.

"You must be able to use your head board has a toothpick by now" James said as the two men walked down to the house.

"What?" Sirius queried.

"Well the amount of notches you have in it" James replied.

* * *

Remus had heard tales of torture devices, bulky guys standing in a corner cracking their knuckles and a collection of pain educing potions that was placed in front of the felon just to make them sweat. Of course he hadn't believed a word of it until Caden and Byron brought him into the fabled Interrogation room.

Byron threw him down in a chair and both Aurors left him alone slamming the heavy steel door behind them. The room was actually quite pleasant, decorative candle sconces holding large church candles lined the room. Illuminating the dusty red brick walls, the floor was solid wood as was the table and solitary chair that Remus was occupying. On the wall next to the door there was a large two-way mirror, he stared at his reflection for a moment. Then without any warning or hesitation his eyes began to well, his head dropped low and the tears fell freely onto his lap. Despair consumed Remus, tearing away at what little grip he had on reality. Ever since he was a boy Remus had fought in vain to try to prove to people he wasn't a monster, that he was a human being with a heart and soul who cherished everybody who had ever touched his life.

Was he really capable of killing a child?

* * *

"So, what do you want?" Sirius asked bluntly. They had been friends for so long that passing pleasantries weren't necessary any more.

"The missus had to go out, and I got bored" James stated relaxing himself in a cosy armchair.

"So I'm stuck with babysitting duty then?" Sirius groaned before flashing another winning smile. He took a seat next to James sighing loudly, they both sat there motionless quite comfortable not making conversation. Until James once again dissolved to laughter, this time instead of Sirius scolding him he too saw the funny side of the event with Kami.

"I can't believe you dated someone called Kami Brooke, she sounds like a stripper!" James said through laughs.

"She was" Sirius stated completely straight faced. "I think" He added creasing up.

"What is it with you and women of ill repute?" James asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ow please don't, you sound like Molly Weasley" Sirius put on a whiny feminine tone and continued. "Why can't find a nice girl Sirius? Someone who you can have lots of widdle babies with…" He reverted back to his regular tone "CONFORM SIRIUS CONFORM!" They both fell about laughing until they were red in the face.

There was a loud crack in the fireplace so sudden both men gasped slightly, a figure quickly emerged and moved rapidly to the men.

"Hello Arthur we were just talk–" Sirius started still somewhat pink. However before he could finish there was another crack from the fireplace, this time Lily appeared.

"Has someone arranged a party and not told me about it?" Sirius directed the question at James with a smile; however James' expression had changed from levity to deep concern. Sirius turned to see that Lily was crying.

"What's happened?" James asked bolting to his wife's side to embrace her.

"Remus has been arrested…for murder" Arthur said, he was very pale and there was an equal amount of worry in his voice.

"What?" James breathed the words not believing him. He clung tightly to the quivering redhead in his arms.

Sirius sat back down, his jaw dropped and then closed. He repeated the process several times before finding any words. "Explain" was all he could say.

"Last night a girl was killed by a werewolf, she lives…lived, in the same area as Remus so they assume he did it" Arthur said swallowing hard as he finished.

"Wha?...how, how do you know this?" James stuttered not sure what else to say.

"One of the receptionists at the Ministry found out and passed on the gossip" Arthur stated with malice. Before anyone else could ask anymore unimportant questions Sirius leapt out of his chair and strode over to the phone. He picked up the receiver and roughly punched in a few numbers. Despite the unbelievable situation Arthur couldn't help but stare in wonderment at the muggle device.

"Who are you calling?" James asked astonished. James couldn't believe that he would make a phone call at a time like this.

"Peter, if he ever picks up" Sirius muttered through clenched teeth. "Come on, come on…Pete, its Sirius look…yeah…look shut up and get over mine NOW…I'll explain when you get here…JUST DO IT" He snapped as he slammed the handset back down. "We're going to the Ministry" Sirius said forcefully as a loud crack erupted from the fireplace.

* * *

Remus felt like he had been sat there for days. He rocked back and forth on his chair, holding himself firmly. He had been crying for so long the tears felt like battery acid on his eyes and stung as they rolled down his cheeks.

The door swung open and Byron walked through holding an A4 brown envelope, he took one look at Remus and snorted. "Crocodile tears won't wash this away, their talking about handing you over to the Dementors" Byron added with a sadistic smirk. Remus shivered and weakly raised his head "Best not disappoint them" Remus replied. He wished for anything to rid him of the feelings swelling inside him, even if it meant having his soul sucked out by a Dementor.

Byron leaned over Remus, his muscular form over shadowing the broken man. "This is 6 year old Avery Lee" He said drawing a picture from the envelope and placing it on the table in front of the Remus.

The first thing that struck Remus was the beautiful tresses of long blonde hair, the light shone on her silky locks making it look as pale as snow. Her glorious mane surrounded an angelic face, piercing blue eyes blinked at Remus. She smiled up at him making little dimples in her cheeks stand out. He could taste the bile at the back of his throat. "Or should I say that WAS Avery Lee" Byron pulled a second photo out of the envelope. His eyes darted to the second picture, a tiny body lay face up in a pool of blood. Her eyes were still open however the sparkle no longer resided in them, her milky skin was shredded by elongated claws and teeth. Remus leapt from the chair, he threw himself against the nearest wall and threw up. He closed his eyes as he coughed and sobbed but all he saw was blood, torn flesh and Avery's desecrated remains.

"You did a good job on her, that's a closed casket for sure" Byron chirped with a slight laugh. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Remus gasped between panic stricken breaths.

"Starting to wish Caden was here instead of me, are you?" He said spitting out Caden's name. "How he ever managed to become an Auror is beyond me, you should have seen him before I came in here all doe eyed and pain ridden" He continued with mock sympathy.

"The Minister thought it better if someone who isn't…emotional involved with you to do the questioning" He said sideling up to Remus.

Remus dropped to his hands and knees, he sobbed loudly not trying to conceal his tears. Byron let out a frustrated sigh then grabbed Remus by his hair, he wrenched the man to his feet and threw him into the chair. However due to the intense force with which Byron did this Remus promptly lost his balance and tumbled to the floor, he lay facedown clutching his throbbing head.

"Hmm, what might this be?" Byron asked in a sing-song voice. Remus cagily turned and faced Byron trying to hide the look of pain that had been inflicted upon him. Byron held in his hand the lock of hair that had fallen out of Remus' pocket.

"I keepsake possible" Byron questioned running the lock between his fingers. Remus' eyes widened he had lost the ability to construct a sentence and instead knelt next to Byron quivering. "Answer me" Byron bellowed at Remus before hauling him to his feet and once again pushing him onto the chair.

"I…I" Remus stuttered. "Did it" Byron questioned slamming his fist on the table while still clutching the golden strands. Suddenly the door flew open and another man entered the room "Zeric, how many times do I have to warn you about your brutality?" The man erupted, he was taller then Byron but was no where near as muscular.

"He was just about to confess" Byron replied flippantly. "Well that really is amazing considering as you didn't ask him any questions" The man retorted infuriated.

"Sir I– " Byron started to defend himself but the second man raised his hand not wanting to hear another word. Instead he walked round the table, summoned a chair and addressed Remus.

"My name is Gabriel Flint I am the head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, however some people forget that" Gabriel said aiming the latter part at Byron.

Gabriel scanned the desk and furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed the pictures and the lock of hair.

"Has your solicitor arrived yet?" he asked Remus forcefully but without intimidating him. "I don't have one" Remus uttered.

"Would you like the Ministry to provide you with one?" Gabriel queried still looking at the hair. Remus' eyes flitted to Byron for a moment before answering.

"Yes, please" he replied vigorously. Gabriel stood up and picked up the lock. "Questioning will be postponed until they arrive, I'll have to send this off to be examined" He stated gesturing to the strands in his palm.

Gabriel walked to the still wide open door and left, though he called back sharply for Byron to leave as well. However before following his boss' instructions Byron gripped Remus' shoulder tightly and whispered in his ear "I'm going to make you suffer", this sent another ripple of terror through Remus that lasted long after Byron had left.

* * *

"What do you mean we can't see him?" Sirius asked through gritted teeth while leaning up against the metal rails separating him from the snobbish secretary's booth. Since Voldemort's uprising security at the Ministry had increased tenfold, and at the moment anyone lower then the Minister was scrutinised before entering.

"Are you family?" She asked curling her lip at the enraged man. "As good as" Sirius replied sharply.

"We can't give out information to anyone who isn't family, you'll just have to wait until he is released" She retorted turning her back on Sirius.

Sirius returned to the group growling with frustration. "What do we do now?" Peter asked slightly bewildered.

"We sit and wait, they can't keep him in there forever" Sirius replied taking a seat in the entrance hall. "I have an idea" Arthur chimed.

"I'm an employee here so they have to let me in, I'll find out whatever I can and relay to you guys" He didn't wait for a reply instead he just walked straight through while the disgruntled secretary looked on.

"I don't understand how they could arrest Remus, we've all seen that room it's locked up tighter then Azkaban" Lily stated while James draped his arm around her, she had stopped crying but her voice was still broken.

"They've made a mistake; Remus would never harm a kid let alone…" James let the last part of his sentence trail off. "Yeah, but James you have to remember that every full moon that…thing, isn't Remus" Peter said quietly staring intently at James.

"What, you…you don't think he did it, do you?" James asked rising to his feet and taking a step towards Peter. "No of course not, but look back over the times he's almost killed us, and that was years ago can you imagine how strong he is now that he's in his twenties?" Peter stated while backing away from James. "He didn't do it…HE DIDN'T" James screamed while pointing at Peter, his hand was shaking so hard all conviction was lost. Sirius stepped between the two men and faced James "Hay come on man sit down, this isn't helping anyone especially Remus" He said tenderly while gently pushing James towards a chair and away from Peter. Lily grasped onto her husbands hand tightly and whispered some reassuring words into his ear. Sirius spun on his heels and stared at Peter furiously for a few moments before returning to his seat.

* * *

Remus waited for hours, his only visitor was a member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad who had come to collect hair, blood and saliva samples to be sent off for examining. He sunk into an emotionless state, the world and everything that had happened to him faded away as every inch of him became numb. He didn't even notice when the door finally opened and Gabriel, Byron and a women entered the room.

"Remus, this is Emeray Scott she will be your legal representative" Gabriel stated while summoning two more chairs. Remus looked at the women he couldn't believe his eyes she looked about 14; Emeray noticed the shocked expression instantly.

"How old are you?" He asked slightly intrusively.

"I'm 22 I've just graduated Law School…this is my first case" She replied nervously. Remus put his head in his hands again as everyone took a seat, even though his eyes were closed Remus could feel Byron's sadistic smirk.

"Please verify that you are Remus John Lupin for the record" Gabriel said very professionally. "That's me" Remus utter raising his head.

"What were your exact movements before sunset?" Byron asked leaning closer to Remus. "Um, I met some friends at a pub in London at about 3 o'clock I stayed there until…5, got home half an hour before sunset, chained myself into the restraints and took my Wolfsbane I don't remember anything after that until waking up today" Remus answer putting as much thought into his reply as possible.

"You're absolutely sure you took your Wolfsbane?" Gabriel asked. "Yes, I always make sure I'm fully stocked before each full moon" Remus replied forcefully.

"Well that's funny, because we have your toxicology report here and there aren't any traces of Wolfsbane in your system" Byron said placing a folder down on the table. Remus suddenly remembered how his mixture had tasted very strange but before he could say anything Byron continued. "However we did find a huge quantity of Re'em blood in your blood stream, it gives an average person the strength of ten men so you can only imagine the power a werewolf would have" Byron said very satisfied with himself.

"That is completely unproven, there has been no testing on werewolves since 1956 when it was outlawed" Emeray stated firmly. Remus' worries about his solicitor started to fade. "1954…experimental testing on werewolves was outlawed in 1954, and Re'em blood was discovered in 1877 by which time some testing had already been carried out" Byron retorted smiling cruelly. Remus' fears started to rise again.

Emeray frantically looked through a stack of papers she had brought with her "Ow, yes but those reports were vastly exaggerated and have been widely discredited" She replied very embarrassed.

"Widely discredited…tell that to Torin and Coral Lee" Byron spat at Emeray. "Hay that's enough" Gabriel said sharply eyeing Byron sternly.

"Remus, did you know anything about this?" Gabriel said turning to Remus again. "Of course not, I do remember my potion not tasting anything like usual but I didn't have any time to work out what it was" Remus answered while his mind raced with all the fresh information.

"Remus why do I get the feeling like your not giving me all the details? Look due to the Werewolf Constitutional Act of 1904 we can't charge you with murder, however if you deliberately sabotaged your restraints or were experimenting with strengthening potions you will be sent to Azkaban for at least 25 years. If you want us to help you we need to know everything" Gabriel said compassionately but with force. "I'm trying; it's so hard to remember, I…" Remus began to well up again as words left him.

"You said that you went to the pub, did you have a drink?" Byron asked sneering at Remus again. "Yes" Remus whispered. "Did you get drunk?" Byron said prolonging the last word. Remus paused for a second; he raised his head so he was eye-to-eye with Byron "No…well not really" He replied without much confidence.

"Ow, I know when I go out with my mates I like to have a good time…and a good time usually involves getting completely lashed" Byron pushed the matter further.

"My client has answered your question, please don't compare your social habits to that of his" Emeray chimed in. "Well I am sorry I was just wondering what exactly he means when he says 'well not really'" Byron said looking from her to Remus.

"Exactly how much alcohol did you consume?" Gabriel asked. "Um, about 3 or 4 pints" Remus answered scratching his head.

"3 or 4 pints" Gabriel mimicked his answer "Well that's enough to impair anybody's motor skills, did you feel light-headed or dizzy?" Gabriel continued. "Slightly…but I know I chained myself up tightly and the door was magically reinforced so I couldn't have gotten out" Remus uttered trying to convince himself more then his interrogators.

"Remus, we examined your home…there was no damage to the door of the room with your restraints in. It was wide open" Gabriel said calmly…

* * *

**A/N:** Kay guys I seem to have contradicted myself, this chapter is so friggin long I'm going to cut in into two parts. What do you think so far? Am I cruel enough to make Remus guilty or is there foul play afoot? And what was that 'situation' between Peter and James all about?

By the way I decided to scrap having someone play Remus' solicitor I don't think anybody would want to play an inept law school grad, but will she redeem herself? Well I find that having reviews helps my imagination flow...hint, hint nudge wink ok you get my point!

**P.S** The bit with Kami and Sirius really happened to a friend of mine, you guys might not find it funny but I cracked up when I heard. No offence to anybody named Kami of course…


	3. Questions & Doubt pt 2

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay my bastard computer is doing bastardly things, grrrr. Thanks for the reviews so far guys keep it up…hint, hint.

**WARNING: This chapter involves self harm, if this subject offends or upsets you please skip.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Questions & Doubt

part 2

"Tal, Tal" Arthur called across the bustling Magical Law Enforcement Department. He ran to a woman who was darting from desk to desk. "Talana I need your help" He said abruptly stopping very red faced in front of the woman.

"Arthur, now really isn't a good time we've been getting reports all night of more Death Eater attacks on muggles. Honestly the way Voldemort's going you'd think there was a shortage" Talana had big black circles under her eyes and a bloodied rag hung from her left arm. "Are you ok?" Arthur asked anxiously staring at her arm.

"I'm fine, had a bit of a scuffle yesterday with a Death Eater" she said brushing it off. "What do you want?" she sighed reluctantly. "A friend of mine has been brought in for questioning on a killing last night just outside London" Arthur didn't want to mention that the victim was a six year old.

"And you want me to get you information" Talana asked already knowing his answer. Arthur nodded hopefully. "Arthur, you know that investigations like this are confidential, if I go around spreading gossip…well it's more then my jobs worth" she replied slightly frustrated with Arthur.

"I know, but I swear I won't tell a soul I'm just really worried about him. And remember when I got your brother off the hook about those enchanted teapots" Arthur said hoping she wouldn't see through his lie. There was a long silence between them for a moment. "Name" was all she uttered.

"Um, Arthur Weasley…ow you mean, Remus John Lupin" Arthur said embarrassed.

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises" within an instant Talana was gone and Arthur felt much more hopeful.

* * *

"No, no that's not possible. I remember bolting that door, there was no way I could have left it open" Remus ranted at everyone in the room.

"Did you see the room?" Byron asked sarcastically. After hearing his words Remus thought back and realised that when he had got home that morning he had walked straight past the restraint room.

"I-…no" Remus uttered impassively. Gabriel and Byron continued to bombard him with questions, however he couldn't focus anymore and the world became a blur.

"What?...When?...How?" Remus couldn't even hear what the rest of their questions were until a hand came crashing down on the table snapping Remus back to reality.

"I said, where did you get the hair?…Avery's hair" Byron snarled across the table. "I found it when I woke up" Remus stated bluntly.

"Where did you find it?" Gabriel asked, he was still giving Byron a warning stare. "I woke up this morning in a forest just outside of Muckton. When I got up I noticed a lock of hair by my feet…I don't know why but I took it with me" Remus saw Byron roll his eyes as he finished his reply.

"Why didn't you inform the Ministry when you woke up?" Gabriel questioned while rubbing his head. "I was completely naked, miles from home and my mind was racing. All I wanted to do was get back and then start thinking rationally" Remus was starting to get angry. He had been sitting there for hours all they did was repeat the same questions trying to trip him up while Byron intimidated him. As for Emeray, since her last embarrassment she had decided to just sit next to Remus and take notes on the case.

* * *

"For the love of Merlin's beard Arthur what do you think you're playing at?" Talana grabbed Arthur by the wrist and dragged him into an empty office.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked already expecting her answer.

"Avery Lee, a six year old kid and a werewolf. Honestly Arthur most werewolf cases are never simple but this…" Talana paused for a moment shaking her head wildly.

"Death Eaters, a case file that's completely shocking and lets not forget the politics involved" she ranted while pacing the room. Arthur had not expected this answer at all.

"Talana, slow down and tell me what you have found" Arthur pleaded with her. Talana stopped pacing and stared at Arthur.

"Avery Lee's father, Torin Lee has been brought in on charges linked to the dark arts several times this year. To be more specific, the Ministry have been keeping an eye on him because they think he is a Death Eater" she stopped so he could absorb the information. "How is that linked to Avery's death?" Arthur asked very puzzled.

"Well it's not really, but if you look at the bigger picture then it starts to look a little dodgy" Talana said, her inner instincts telling her that something wasn't right.

"And the bigger picture is?" he pushed. "Torin and his wife Coral have vanished, Avery's autopsy is full of holes, no pun intended and…vital evidence has also gone missing" she finished sighing loudly. "And all in perfect timing" she added with a glum laugh.

"Sorry?" Arthur queried. "Arthur, don't you read the Daily Prophet anymore?" Talana replied exasperated. "In 1904 the Werewolf Constitutional Act was devised, this means that if someone is killed by a werewolf the accused can't be trailed for murder. The court decided that because they have no will power over the full moon they can't be held responsible." Arthur nodded with every word.

"Anyway, a few weeks back Anti-Werewolf protesters demanded that the constitutional act be thrown out. And they were good, they'd done research beyond anything we had anticipated and they also had a top barrister. Thankfully, they lost but they didn't take it too well if you know what I mean" Talana finished and raised her eyebrows. Arthur just stared at her.

"Think about it a blonde haired, blue eyed angel is savagely killed by a werewolf, several weeks after a high profile case about werewolves being trailed for murder is thrown out. This case stinks of foul play to me, I just don't know which lead is stronger"

Arthur stood on the spot completely shocked by all the information. Talana walked over to the door and drew the blinds, she turned back to Arthur who hadn't moved an inch. "I managed to get my hands on a copy of the case file" she said withdrawing the file from the inside pocket of her robes. "Don't go flashing this about, if anybody but you sees what's in this file our necks are on the block as well as our jobs" Talana handed him the file then darted out of room leaving Arthur completely stunned.

* * *

"How long are you planning on detaining my client for? You do realise it's a full moon tonight and you need a signed court order to keep a werewolf over night?, it's stated clearly in paragraph two section three of the Werewolf Con–" Emeray started sternly before Byron cut her off.

"Yes we know about the constitution, and we will keep him as long as we want" Byron spat at her through gritted teeth. As much as Remus hated Byron he recognised his feeling, for the last few hours Emeray had only dictated Werewolf Rights to the Auror's.

"No let him go" Gabriel sighed rubbing his eyes. Byron looked surprised at his boss then began to protest however yet again Gabriel stopped him.

"For the night I mean, when we've collected a few more statements and gone over all the evidence once more we'll need to talk to you again" Gabriel said addressing Remus with a sympathetic smile.

Remus was overjoyed that he could finally go home, then he remembered the faces of the people at the Ministry. How they had looked at him with complete disgust, suddenly the thought of leaving the room terrified him. What was waiting for him on the other side of that door?

* * *

Sirius stood up and felt every bone crack, they had been waiting for Remus to emerge for hours.

"What's the time?" He asked James, James moved his hand gently trying not to wake Lily who had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"Half five" He replied. They had been waiting for four and a half hours to be more precise. James and Peter had stopped acknowledging each other several hours ago and the atmosphere was getting very tense.

The door separating the waiting area and the Ministry swung open, Emeray, Caden, Byron and Remus walked through.

Sirius' face lit up and he began to walk over to his friend. However Remus raised his hand as a gesture for him to stop, as he continued talking with the Ministry workers.

"Try to get some sleep you look awful" Caden said smiling weakly at Remus. He nodded but deep down he knew that it was going to be another long and painful night. Caden patted Remus on the shoulder then left, Byron however was stood firmly on the spot staring Remus down.

"I'd better get going, unless you'd like me to…er, stay for legal advise" Emeray said nervously; in the clearer light she could see how attractive Remus was as she looked for a reason to accompany him.

"I'll be fine, I think I can state the Werewolf Constitutional Act off by heart now" he replied trying to smile. He was never good at picking up signals, and at a time like this Emeray's indication was completely lost on him.

"Okay" she nodded desperately clutching at the stack of papers under her arm as she left. Sirius was still standing there observing, he couldn't understand why Remus had told him to stay back.

"Smooth" Byron laughed watching Emeray leave. "I guess you can never tell what depraved things people get off on" Byron was talking about Emeray being attracted to a werewolf however there was an underlying message directed at Remus. "Sweet dreams" he growled before leaving.

Lily had woken up and was standing next to James silently wondering what was going on, Peter was still skulking in the corner and Sirius wasn't sure whether to approach Remus or stay put.

"Are you okay?" Sirius uttered not realising his voice had dropped to a dull purr. "How did you find out?" Remus asked staring at the floor, he couldn't bring himself to look into his friends eyes.

"I was with Molly, Arthur came home early and told us. He thought you might need a friend" Lily said walking towards Remus. He just walked past her and sat down in the chair that Sirius had been occupying.

"It's okay we're all here for you, and together we're going to find out the truth" James said gently kneeling beside him. "And what if the truth means I'm guilty?" Remus said bluntly still staring at the floor.

At hearing this Lily and Sirius rushed over to Remus surrounding him. "But your not guilty" Sirius stately firmly, Lily nodded fervently along with Sirius' words.

"How do you know Sirius? I don't even know, ask anyone in there and they'll tell you that I'm going to rot in hell for what I've done" Remus yelled leaping to his feet and gesturing towards the Ministry doors. "Moon–" James started before Remus cut him off.

"Don't, I don't ever want you to call me that name" He said forcefully staring directly at James. "Don't talk like this, I know they've screwed your head up in there but I know you're not capable of…" James let his words trail off again.

"Capable of killing a six year old child" Remus finished James' sentence for him. He could feel his eyes begin to sting again, all he wanted to do was crawl into a corner and cry himself to death. Instead he was arguing with his best friends, the men that he had considered brothers since childhood, and he didn't know why.

"Remus, they don't have anything on you they can't have" Sirius stated more to himself then anyone else. "Ow, but they do…it appears that I consumed a dose of Re'em blood last night, I was so drunk I accidentally left the door of my restraint room open. And I had a lock of Avery's hair on me when they brought me in" Remus blurted the words out, a tear finally rolled down his face as he said Avery's name for the first time.

James stood shaking is head wildly desperately wanting him to take back the words, everyone else was completely silent until Peter surfaced from the corner.

"Why are saying this?...It-…it's like you want us to think you're guilty" he said questioningly furrowing his eyebrows at Remus. "Well maybe I am, Pete" That was all Remus said before brushing past his friends and leaving the Ministry, while everyone looked on to shocked and distressed to do stop him.

* * *

Remus staggered through the hole where his front door used to be clutching his bottle of Wicked Wanda's Wonder Brew, the strongest spirit on the market. He stumbled up the stair and clumsily wandered into the restraint room.

The walls were covered in scratch marks so deep the plaster crumbled under his feet as he walked through the ruin. The medicine cabinet had been torn down and the phials of blue liquid lay smashed on the warped and dented wooden floor. The wall that had his chains attached had several gaping holes in it where the shackles had been ripped clean out. The pile of metal lay discarded in a corner along with the remains of the rabbit that was starting to rot in the summer heat.

Remus poured the remainder of the alcohol into his mouth and swallowed, he shuddered as its effects hit him again. He stared at the bottle for a moment, peeling the label off and trying not to pass out. It suddenly occurred to Remus that the sun was going to set soon, and with his restrain room demolished he didn't know what to do.

In a fit of rage Remus smashed the bottle against the wall and wailed with despair. He dropped to his knees sobbing gently as he watched the sunlight reflect off of a shard of glass.

Remus watched the glass for several minutes before he reached over and grasped the shard. He knew instantly what he had to do.

He turned the shard in his hand until he found the sharpest point and pressed it against his left forearm. Remus' heart was pounding harder then every before, his hands shook and he let out a slight gasp as he pressed harder and dragged the glass over his skin until the blood fell freely. The intense feeling of physical pain drowned out his screaming conscience, he continued to tare at his skin. The burning ripping sensation swept over him relieving him of all this troubles even if it was the merest of moments.

Again and again he slashed at his arm vigorously; blood poured from his arm and keeping his eyes open was proving a huge problem. He fell face first onto the dilapidated wooden floor watching the blood pour from his throbbing arm; the red fluid covered a surprising amount of wood within a few short seconds.

"NO, REMUS WHAT HAVE YOU DONE"

Remus could tell that a person was screaming at him but the voice seemed so distant it sounded more like a whisper.

* * *

**A/N:** I was really disappointed with this chapter, but the next with be very exciting…hopefully.

Was Remus set up by an Anti-Werewolf gang, and Torin being a Death Eater have anything to do with his daughters death?, vital evidence has gone missing and who was screaming at Remus? Well I guess you'll have to wait until next time to find out…

**P.S:** Starlollie I love you and I want to have your babies!


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